the fiscal cliff. good morning again, everybody. i'm becky quick. here is what we know right now. the pace of private talks picking up speed as we now have just 20 days left. however, neither the white house nor house speaker boehner's office are giving any public indication that either side is yet prepared to give up real ground. on a road trip yesterday, president obama indicated that he is willing to compromise, just not on that point about an increase in tax for relthy americans. meantime, speaker boehner says he is still waiting on specific spending cuts. joining us now for analysis, tony fratto, of hamilton place strategies and former white house press secretary and gerald bernstein former economic adviser to vice president joe biden. gentlemen, thank you for being here with us and getting this special day of coverage kicked off for us. >> rising early and rising above. >> exactly. let's talk about this. jared, it seems like things have gotten quieter. do you think that's the case? is that a good